The Army of the Bravest Men
The Army of the Bravest Men (Japanese: 最も勇敢男性の陸軍, Mottomo yūkan dansei no rikugun) is a legend of Japanese history that was written at some point during the 18th or 19th centuries. The legend was written in the form of four novellas, each of them documenting a fictitious rebellion by surviving Toyotomi peasants against the Tokugawa Shogunate following the Osaka Campaign in 1615. Similar to Robin Hood and his Merry Men, the "Army of the Bravest Men" of Sadakata Kira emerged victorious in several battles with the Tokugawa armies, and a final battle near Osaka saw the Toyotomi forces slay Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa and rout his army after a hard-fought battle. The end of the story sees Ieyasu's son and heir Hidetada Tokugawa lead a final attempt to take Kyoto from the Toyotomi after Sadakata is proclaimed the new Shogun by the last of the Toyotomi clan, and Hidetada is slain, finally bringing peace to Japan. Synopsis The Survival at Osaka (大阪でのサバイバル) fleeing during the Osaka Campaign]]The story begins in the summer of 1615 as Ieyasu Tokugawa's Tokugawa army heads to crush the rebellion of Hideyori Toyotomi in Osaka Castle. Hideyori assembles an army of Toyotomi loyalists and masterless, brave warriors to fight against the Tokugawa Shogunate in a final attempt to restore Toyotomi rule to Japan. Sadakata Kira, then just a footsoldier with the Toyotomi, distinguishes himself in the fight against Ieyasu, nearly killing the shogun himself in some fierce melee. However, Ieyasu is able to escape, the only man from his bodyguard unit to make it out of the battle alive. The Osaka Campaign sees the Toyotomi fight to the death as the Tokugawa launch fierce assaults against the castle, with Hideyori being slain. However, the Tokugawa suffer even higher losses and are forced to withdraw. Only a few dozen Toyotomi loyalists are left alive, with a tired and distraught Sadakata being among the few remaining survivors. Sadakata has recurring nightmares about the moment that Ieyasu fled, and he laments his inability to prevent his lord Hideyori from being killed as well as his inability to slay Ieyasu as he fled from the battlefield. The morning after the Tokugawa army's withdrawal, Sadakata decides to take command of the remaining Toyotomi loyalists, who are unsure of what to do next; the Tokugawa would likely return to the castle with another large army. Sadakata gives an inspiring speech, in which he states, "We should rather die than hazard giving in to the vicious Ieyasu. The heads of the Toyotomi may be severed, but its arms and legs are still kicking. Our banners still fly; should they be planted in heaven or on Earth depends on us." His speech rallies the disheartened Toyotomi troops, and they head into the lowlands to gather support for a war against Ieyasu. The Rebellion against the Shogunate (幕府に対する反乱) The next chapter picks up approximately a month later. By now, the rebel force has grown to 690 troops, including Toyotomi sympathizers who were encouraged by the pyrrhic Toyotomi victory at Osaka and finally decided to take up arms; other warriors are bandits and ronin. The Toyotomi army has mostly robbed rice convoys and redistributed the rice to the peasants and their army of bandits, and it has stumbled upon a few Tokugawa outposts and slain many soldiers. In response, Ieyasu sends his magistrate Ujinori Abe to put down the uprising of the Toyotomi bandits, meeting them along a river. The ensuing battle sees the hardened samurai of the Toyotomi fight against the Yari Ashigaru of the Tokugawa and slaughter them, winning a decisive victory against the Tokugawa and killing Abe before he can flee. The battle is a victory for the rebels, and it encourages many more fighters to ally with them. Over the next few months, their forces fight spirited battles against the Tokugawa and weaken the shogunate's once-mighty grip over Japan. Buddhist warrior monk Noritoki Ryuzoji allies with the bandits in hopes of establishing a peaceful society that he once dreamt of, and the Buddhists help the Toyotomi rebels in defeating a Toyotomi army under Masanobu Honda, who flees from the battlefield as his army is crushed in yet another Toyotomi victory. Ieyasu finds out about the defeat of Honda's army, and he decides to make a risky decision by raising an army himself and leading it to the ruins of Ishiyama near Osaka. The Toyotomi raise the large "Army of the Bravest Men" of Japan to fight the final battle with the Tokugawa, one that will determine the future of Japan. This army includes warrior monks, ninja, bandits, ronin, vagabonds, peasants, and Toyotomi loyalists, and they are united by their common goal of overthrowing Ieyasu's shogunate. The Final Battle (最後の戦い) ]]Ieyasu's massive army encamps on one side of the river, while the Toyotomi are on the other side. The Toyotomi have not only warrior monks and peasant forces, but also cavalry. The Tokugawa have some musketeers in addition to their massive army of trained soldiers, and it appears that the Tokugawa clan would emerge victorious. The Tokugawa launch an all-out assault on the Toyotomi, starting with a cavalry raid on the Toyotomi left flank, and the rest of their army charges the Toyotomi infantry. The three lines of Toyotomi infantry become one line as the melee infantry charge in and hack the Tokugawa soldiers, and Toyotomi cavalry charge around their right flank to charge the Tokugawa army's spearmen from behind. Ieyasu himself engages in battle, so Sadakata charges Ieyasu and engages him in battle. In the end, Ieyasu is unhorsed and falls to his death, with his body being submerged underneath water in the river. His forces flee, and Toyotomi cavalry chase down the fleeing Tokugawa infantry, utterly routing the Tokugawa. Ieyasu is dead along with most of his men, and Sadakata has won a costly victory, with many of the brave warriors giving their lives for a better future. The Encounter at Kyoto (京都での出会い) Sadakata enters the city of Kyoto, the seat of the Emperor of Japan, and Japan is pacified. The various daimyo pledge allegiance to Sadakata, who is forced to accept the burden of being Shogun due to the lack of a Toyotomi claimant. However, Hidetada Tokugawa arrives at the castle walls with his escorts and attempts to take back power. His men kill a whole cavalry unit that dismount to defend the city from the attackers, but Sadakata himself dismounts and heads to the walls to fight Hidetada in a final battle. The dismounted warriors fight in fierce combat, and Hidetada is eventually slain with all of his men. The result is peace being restored to Japan, with Sadakata creating a happy and tranquil society to replace the Tokugawa. Characters Toyotomi *Sadakata Kira - The main protagonist of the story. Kira was a brave warrior who had fought in the Imjin War in Korea under Hideyoshi Toyotomi and returned to Japan to serve his clan loyally. Following the Osaka Campaign, Sadakata rallies the last few survivors of the Tokugawa assault to fight against Ieyasu Tokugawa's shogunate forces and free Japan of the cruel Tokugawa clan's clutches. *Narihira Wakiya - The deuteragonist of the story. Narihira is the loyal second-in-command of Sadakata who is one of the survivors of the Osaka Campaign that same year, and he leads his samurai warriors in a guerrilla war against the Tokugawa. *Noritoki Ryuzoji - The leader of the Buddhist warrior monks that agree to fight alongside the Toyotomi. A reserved man who is silent throughout the story, he decides to side with the Toyotomi to reclaim the honor of the Sohei and to slay Ieyasu and the usurpers of Japan. *Hirotane Saigo - The horseman who slays Ieyasu in "The Final Battle". A brave warrior, he fells many Tokugawa warriors in battle and leaves the battlefield after killing Ieyasu, having appeased his desire to get revenge for the death of his master at Ieyasu's hands. *Norisuke Shoni - An officer of the Toyotomi who is present on the battlefield from the first battle. *Takeie Yagyu - A former bandit who sides with the Toyotomi. *Kazushige Sogo - A former bandit who sides with the Toyotomi. *Terunaga Kawabe - A former bandit who sides with the Toyotomi. *Katsukage Shimazu - A former Toyotomi warrior who decides to join the rebellion against Ieyasu in revenge for Osaka. *Terutoshi Naruse - A warrior of the Toyotomi who sides with Sadakata's army. *Nakachika Nomiya - The "Horseman of Izumo" who sides with the Toyotomi in the battle with Masanobu Honda. *Mochinao Ishii - The leader of the ninjas allied to the Toyotomi during the battle against Masanobu Honda and his army. *Michitomo Anayama - A vagabond who sides with the Toyotomi in their rebellion. *Nagatsune Yagyu - A peasant leader who rallies his village to assist the Toyotomi in their rebellion against the Tokugawa Shogunate. *Michikatsu Enomoto - A warrior who sides with the Toyotomi in the final battle. *Nagataka Sengoku - A famed swordsman from Tosa Province who dies in the final battle against the Tokugawa Shogunate. *Mochimitsu Hojo - A swordsman from Bingo Province who distinguishes himself in the final battle. *Sanetomo Shinjou - A famed bandit and Christian convert who fights to avenge his persecution at the hands of Ieyasu and the Tokugawa. Tokugawa *Ieyasu Tokugawa - The main antagonist of the story. A real-life figure, Ieyasu historically had been named "Shogun" in 1603 and founded the Tokugawa Shogunate after defeating the Toyotomi at the Battle of Sekigahara. The point of divergence is the Osaka Campaign of 1615; historically, Ieyasu crushed the Toyotomi forces and brought Japan under the peaceful rule of the Tokugawa. However, the story presents Ieyasu as an evil man who rules as a tyrant, and he is responsible for usurping the shogunate of Japan. He is killed by Hirotane Saigo in "The Final Battle" chapter of the story. *Tokugawa Hidetada - The secondary antagonist of the story and the second Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Hidetada is Ieyasu's son, and he seeks to continue his father's legacy by leading the shogunate forces against the rebels. Hidetada is killed in the Encounter at Kyoto at the end of the story after arriving at the city with just his escorts in a vain attempt to regain his family's honor. *Masanobu Honda - The daimyo of the Honda clan and Ieyasu's most trusted general. Masanobu is defeated in the penultimate battle between the Toyotomi and Tokugawa armies, and the destruction of his army and his flight from the field lead to Ieyasu taking personal command of the war against the Toyotomi. *Ujinori Abe - The magistrate of Osaka who is the first adversary of the Toyotomi rebels. Ujinori, a coward, is slain while attempting to flee from the Toyotomi rebels in their first battle, and his death leads to the rebellion becoming a famous event across Japan. Category:Books